Dear Neighbors & Friends,
Educational opportunity opens the door to equality for all in this still imperfect union in which we live. Yesterday, the Court slammed that door shut. The Court’s originalist opinion framing the Constitution as colorblind defies law, history, and logic. The Constitution was written by wealthy slave-holding white men. They no more wanted colorblindness than they wanted equality or voting rights for their wives! As Justice Jackson wrote, the “well-documented ‘intergenerational transmission of inequality' " is the inequality that UNC’s admissions program helped to address, “to the benefit of us all.”
Most Americans never understood that affirmative action was but one remedy for the very real intergenerational transmission of inequality. The majority may wish that America was colorblind, but wishing doesn’t make it so. All the knit picky rationalizations and counters to the dissents don’t make it so either. Instead, the majority of the Court revealed only their hypocrisy and willful ignorance. This decision is yet another stain on the soul of America. While this decision has been anticipated for some time, it leaves no less bitter a taste.
Similarly, those students with significant student loan debt - which is a lot of students - had the legs cut out from under them in this morning’s ruling that the Biden administration’s cancellation of student debt for those who met the criteria was an overreach, despite the fact that the Biden administration used the very same executive action used by former President Trump to pause student loan payments. This seems highly partisan and disadvantages any student who needs financial assistance to get an education and better their lives and communities in the midst of decades of skyrocketing tuition costs.
And in a first, this morning the Court endorsed a Christian woman web designer’s posting a notice on her website that she would not build websites for LGBTQ+ people. No LGBTQ+ person had even asked her to build a site for them. This was all hypothetical. One of the first things they teach you in law school is that in order to bring a case to court, one must have a “case or controversy” and that a hypothetical is not a case. Here, the Court allowed a hypothetical case to deny potential service to a member of a protected class. It will not be too long before someone posts a notice refusing to serve another protected class based on dubious religious grounds. We should all be deeply concerned.
Sincerely,
Jo Anne Simon
P.S. My office will be closed on Monday, July 3rd and Tuesday, July 4th for the holiday. This has been quite a difficult week with major setbacks to civil and human rights, and I sincerely hope that you find peace and enjoy the time with family and friends. Have a Happy 4th of July!
Legislative Highlights. The Assembly concluded the legislative session for the year, and while there were several groundbreaking achievements, there were also some missed opportunities. I included a longer overview in my last email alert, which you can read here. On the last day in Albany, we passed several important bills which I wanted to tell you about:
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NY State Designated “Safe Haven” for Trans Youth. Governor Hochul signed into law a bill I co-sponsored designating New York as a “Safe Haven” for trans youth, their families, and their healthcare providers from out-of-state investigations against legal gender-affirming care.
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Protecting Abortion Access with Shield Bill. It has been a year since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled to gut reproductive rights in Dobbs v. Jackson, which overturned Roe v. Wade and the constitutional right to an abortion. I helped pass the Shield Bill to ensure our state provides legal protection to NY doctors who prescribe and send abortion medication to those who need it in other states.
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Protecting New Yorkers from Deed Theft. Elderly and African American homeowners in neighborhoods with rising property values have been the target of bad actors wrongfully scamming them to take the title to their homes. This bill allows prosecutors to file legal action on homes where deed theft is suspected, helping to ensure these fraudsters cannot take out loans against the property.
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Criminal Justice Reform. I was proud to pass a bill to ensure that those wrongfully convicted can seek justice and to vacate convictions of those who were charged under statutes that were later decriminalized or found to be unconstitutional.
Approval for Congestion Pricing Plan. The Federal Government has cleared the final hurdle to implement the first-in-the-nation congestion pricing plan. I have been fighting for congestion pricing since 2009 and was proud to vote in support of this bill in 2019. This is a tremendous victory that will protect our environment from harmful emissions, reduce traffic congestion, and make a major investment in our subways and public transit.
Thanks to Emma’s Torch. Our recent Java with Jo Anne covered a wide range of topics - like the Gowanus brownfield cleanup, street and bicycle safety, the BQE redesign, legislative victories, student loans for legal aid attorneys, and policy reforms that we will keep fighting for. I appreciate hearing the community talk about their concerns and legislative goals to make AD-52 a welcoming place. Thanks to Emma’s Torch in Carroll Gardens for hosting this event and being a great asset to our community by providing training to refugees! And their biscuits are out of this world.
Air Quality Alert - Free N95 Masks From My Office. NYC is again experiencing poor air quality due to ongoing Canadian wildfires. Individuals with heart or breathing problems are especially sensitive to the poor air, so please limit outdoor activity if you can. My district office at 341 Smith St in Carroll Gardens has a limited supply of N95 masks available. These masks can keep you safe outdoors when the air quality reaches unhealthy levels. My office is open Monday-Friday from 9am-5pm. (Please note we will be closed for the holiday on July 3 and 4). Monitor the air quality by zip code using this EPA tool.
New Subways Cars & Improved Weekend Service. New MTA enhancements will increase arrival times on the G, J & M lines on weekends and make the subway more efficient for millions of riders! I’m proud to have supported the $35M in state funding to make these changes possible. I attended an event at our local Hoyt-Schermerhorn station, along with MTA’s head of NYC Transit, Rich Davey, and others. In addition to expanded service, the MTA also revealed its second set of new R211 train cars on the A line, which have wider doorways, fully digital displays and on-board security cameras, and which are compatible with the MTA’s future signaling system (you can keep an eye out for their unique LED headlights). Read more here.
Call for Spanish and Russian Speaking Volunteers for CHiPS Soup Kitchen. CHiPS Soup Kitchen has more than doubled its hot meal service in the past several months as we have seen an influx of asylum seekers in our community. They are in need of more volunteers, especially folks who speak Spanish and Russian. If you have any availability this summer to pitch in, please fill out their volunteer form.
Supporting Domestic Workers. I was thrilled to be honored by the Carroll Gardens Nanny Association (CGNA) through their 1st Annual Care Hero Awards, along with Council member Shahana Hanif and the NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection Commissioner Vilda Vera Mayuga. Domestic workers are essential workers and are integral parts of our communities. We must continue to fight to ensure they have equal worker protections at the city and state level. I am proud that Care Forward, the first in the nation initiative to raise the standards of care, launched in my district. You can learn more about GGNA’s Care Forward Initiative here.
Join the NYCHA Clean Energy Academy. NYCHA’s Office of Resident Economic Empowerment & Sustainability (REES) is recruiting for the Fall 2023 cohort of the NYCHA Clean Energy Academy. The next Clean Energy Academy Information sessions is Monday, July 10th, from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm. NYCHA residents will develop the skills to install solar panels, transform heating and cooling systems, and install and maintain heat pumps. Enrollment is free and trainees earn a stipend. This in-person program grants multiple industry-specific credentials, including OSHA 30 and site safety. Register online for an upcoming info session or call the REES hotline at (718) 289-8100 to RSVP.
Housing Lottery for 595 Dean St, Due 7/3. Applications are being accepted through July 3 for 240 rent-stabilized apartments at 595 Dean Street (between Carlton Avenue and Vanderbilt Avenue). Qualifying applicants must earn between $78,515 - $187,330. Studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments are available for rents ranging from $2,290 to $3,360. More information is available here; applications are being accepted through NYC Housing Connect.
Movies with a View in Brooklyn Bridge Park. On Thursday, July 6 – and running for 8 consecutive Thursday evenings – Brooklyn Bridge Park begins its free outdoor movie night on the Harbor View Lawn. Doors open at 6pm and movies begin at sundown.
